Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Quick Turn Around

The Wizards will look to put the game against Houston out of their minds quickly when they take on DC United at RFK tomorrow night. Since the Wizards beat DC 4-0 on opening day, United has continued to be winless and has only scored 2 goals in league play. DC also has yet to score at home this season and with them still winless, former Wizards coach, Curt Onalfo may be making some changes to the lineup, including potentially starting teenager Bill Hamid in goal. Onalfo is looking to shake things up to change United's fortunes. United is also in the middle of a busy schedule, including their 3rd game in 8 days.

KC comes into the game on the back of their most disappointing performance of the season in their 3-0 loss to Houston on Saturday. Davy Arnaud will not be playing tomorrow due to his red card in Houston. The other major concern is defender Jimmy Conrad who didn't travel to Houston due to his calf strain. It now becomes a question on whether he now traveled to DC or not. If he doesn't we're likely to see Matt Besler and Pablo Escobar again in the center of defense for the third game in a row. The injury report for the game though lists Conrad as probably so his return appears likely tomorrow night. With Arnaud out the question becomes who replaces him in midfield, and it's likely to be one of Birahim Diop, Santiago Hirsig, or Craig Rocastle. Each brings a different aspect, it'll be interesting to see who Vermes chooses.

Key Match Up - Kei Kamara vs DC center defense. Kamara is still the Wizards leading scorer with 2 goals and is likely to once again be in the middle of the forward line for this game. Him getting the better of the physical matchup will be key in the Wizards getting the 3 points.

PREDICTION - This is an important game for the Wizards, to be one of the top tier teams in the league and not just a blip on the radar you have to get points on the road against teams you should. While Houston is down a bit and KC played well in Seattle, most fans would have told you before the season that they didn't expect to get much from those two games. Still with the way DC has played this weekend, it's one of those places that you should pick up road points if you want to compete for a higher playoff seed. KC's lack of scoring though is disturbing at this point.